“It’s that there is no secret,” said Steve Seige, who with his wife Tammy owns Rusty Saw Smokehouse along M-84. But in working with some of the best in the business since 1989, he’s managed to come up with a style all his own.

Even more, it’s served fresh from the smoker, meaning that you can only get ribs Friday and Saturday night.

Word-of-mouth draws in the diners — the Seiges cooked at The Sawmill golf club and ran a food cart at the Shortstop Depot at Lawndale and Tittabawassee before opening the Rusty Saw two years ago — and the smell alone is enough to keep them coming back.

Or maybe it’s because, as customers often say, it’s because Steve and his wife Tammy make them feel like family when they come around.

“We know most of them by name now,” his wife said, and the walls hold pictures of a few, along with historical photos taken when the farmland held hog farms.

A huge smoker in the side lot puts the low-and-slow treatment on what’s served as Carolina-style pulled pork. The beef brisket, a customer favorite, takes 16 hours over a blend of local woods, which is why, Seige points out, you can’t just throw a few more in the microwave when it runs out.

“I don’t believe in pre-cooking and warming bags in the microwave,” he said. “That’s why they go as fast as I cook them; people are getting tired of that prepared-in-advance food.”

He’s not big on smothering everything in sauce, either, though customers can add some of his signature Michigan cherry blend if the few ribbons across the top don’t do the trick.

Those looking for something a little different can order burgers with names like Shanty Boy and River Hog, playing off the restaurant’s lumber-era theme.

The couple offers at least six sides each day, too, Seige said, from traditional French fries to red beans and rice and bread from Hamilton Bakery. It lists jambalaya, too, “but I don’t make that as often,” Seige admitted. “I make my own Andouille sausage, and when we have it on hand, I’ll throw some together.”

Nothing goes to waste, with even the baked beans sporting bits of brisket.

“We are expanding our menu in May,” he added, with meats such as the California-style tri-tip steaks and barbecued chicken and full loin pork roast moving into play. Already, Sunday diners can sample bacon and sausage gravy and brisket hash.

Seige was bit by the barbecue bug when he made deliveries for Bay City Meats, now Michigan Brand, to barbecue competitions around the country.

“I was at a rib fest in Ohio, and this guy from Alabama had burned his hands and needed help,” he said. “That started everything; I was at it on and off for 20 years.”

He’s not shy about crediting the people who taught him the trade, such as the late Paul Olvera of Casa del Rey fame — “That’s where I started learning about brisket,” Seige said — and William “Billy Bones” Wall.

And the Seiges have trophies won at fests from Florida to Iowa to Canada to prove they learned well. The two met at a rib-fest in London, Ontario, when both worked for Olvera.

“We had gone to the same schools, one year apart, and lived in the same area but never met,” his wife Tammy said.

These days, they’re also going to Dow’s corporate offices as part of its guest restaurant program, serving employees there two days a month.

But the Seiges aren’t going corporate any time soon.

“”We’re a mom-and-pop operation,” Tammy Seige said. “We didn’t get too big too fast, and now we’ve built a rapport. And even though not the cheapest around, you get enough to take some home.”

Rusty Saw Smokehouse

HOW TO FIND IT: 6907 Westside Saginaw (M-84), about a mile north of SVSU, in Frankenlust Township

PRICES: Burgers run from $8 to $9.50. Carolina-style pulled pork dishes range from $6.50 to $18. Texas-style beef brisket costs from $7.50 to $19. Michigan cherry-rubbed ribs, served from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, and Memphis-style dry rubbed ribs, served from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday, cost $13 for a half rack and $22 for a full rack. A kids’ menu is available, and the restaurant serves breakfast, including home-cooked meats, on Sunday. Specials, such as tri-tip steak, are also offered each day, and everything comes with a choice of sides.